Hello all!

I don't ask pricing questions much, but since this would be a new endeavor for me, I think I better ask than hate myself later!

I was asked about making individual cakes for a wedding. Only she doesnt just want like a typical 2x2 inch mini cake. She wants it bigger (probably at least a 3x3 inch cake) Covered with fondant, ribbon trim and probably a flower on top. I told her I thought a 3x3 cake was pretty big for one serving. But she wants them to go in individual serving dishes with a domed top, so I think it is more about the "look." She'll need about 100.

I think she understands that this is going to be quite a bit more costly than a typical wedding cake slice. I havent gotten back to her yet because I need to research this and come up with a few options for her. I have to get over that *I* would not pay so much for individual cakes...Just for reference, I usually charge about $3 per serving for cake (I'll also do fondant for that price) if that helps any of you give me a suggestion on pricing. I am guessing each cake is technically at least 3 servings, would you say? Plus throw in the extra for PIA.

NEXT: I just had someone inquire about centerpiece cakes to serve 8 (she'll need 2 I am thinking she needs at least a 6 inch cake for each table even though I count that as 12 servings. Do guests typically cut their own? If so, they definitely need a bigger cake than if a caterer was cutting it, I am guessing. So I figure I need to at least charge her $3 per serving (at 12 servings) is $36 plus extra again for PIA. I am not even sure if I have room for 28 cakes in my kitchen.

Thoughts? Thanks! Merissa

So the 3" cakes....will they be torted and filled? We're speaking of 3" round by 3" high?

That is a lot of cake.

Will you also be responsible for the packaging or just delivering the cakes in a few boxes and they'll package?

For me, having made minis before and knowing how much work and stress goes into decorating something so small if I were asked to make them again I would charge $20 to $25 each (packaged)....$15 to $20 (unpackaged)

I can't stress enough to you how much work these are. Could you possibly talk to her about cupcakes?

I've never done centerpiece cakes so I really can't advise you on that question.

It was actually the mother who came to see me, not the bride. The mother said "we are trying to do what our daughter wants" She said she thought about doing them herself (apparently she used to own some kind of bakery in the past, but now she has some disabilities. Not only that but this has got to be at least 40-50 hours of work...?)

I don't think I would have to package them since she wants them in the dessert "dome" things. It sort of looked like a margarita glass with a dome lid if that makes sense. I know it IS a lot of cake, and I mentioned that a few times. I told her there would probably end up being a lot of cake thrown away since it was such a large serving. As opposed to say a traditional wedding cake where at least you could take home leftovers! Again...not really my business though. Yes, they would be filled. I found a pan online that had 24 cavitities each were about 3 1/4 inch by 1.5 inch tall. I thought maybe I could use 2 for each cake. I don't really like the idea of cutting them out of sheet cakes becasue there will be so much waste!

Anywho...I mentioned possibly cupcakes, and she said no. I told her I would try and come up with a range of options. I got to thinking maybe she doesnt know about those decorative cupcake wraps...That would look a bit more impressive than just a cupcake. I also saw those wonderful mini cakes done with those Kathy Scott molds (I think you use chocolate in them) but it looks like she has closed her store for awhile, so I don't know if I could even get them now. Plus I dont really know what is involved in making them.

I love doing centerpiece cakes. I'm in the minority. a 6" round will be PLENTY of cake for a table. 1 tier. That's 12 servings and I couldn't care less how the guests cut them. It's the usual pricing, plus something for the cake board, so all bc from me would be about $40 each. Any fondant at all, $45. All fondant $52. Plus all the toppers of course.

Make sure you show them what a six-inch round really looks like. Most people have no idea that they are so dinky.

3x3 is a lot of cake for one person. I'd charge at least 26-28 greens for those.

okay, I was thinking around $40 ish for the centerpiece cakes. It just it SEEMS like a lot...to me. I have no idea what she is thinking it's going to cost...probably like $10 a table.

3x3 seems like a lot to me too. Well 3x3 meaning round not square. Not quite as much, but still more than any person needs at a wedding. So do you guys think if I quoted $10 or $12 for those that I would be crazy?

[quote="springlakecake"] So do you guys think if I quoted $10 or $12 for those that I would be crazy?[/quote]

YES
Because you need to quote TWICE that much. If you haven't done these before you don't understand. And once you do mini's you definitely will understand what we're talking about.

That's what I thought LOL!

how come formatting clearly doesn't work for me?